Figure



March 17, 1964 M. o. ALBERT 3,124,938

BLANK CUTTING MACHINE WITH MOVABLE PRODUCT HANDLING AND STACKING MEANS Filed Aug. 5. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 33% as 134 84 24 W5 I32 r? I38 H14 8 1e 96 HO \9 |42- 82 I06 90 92/ aa' A J k z-na I86 I36 I84 &

// n4 Has 1 :82 I l INVENTQR Marcel O. A lberf ATTORNEYS March 17, 1964 0, ALBERT 3,124,988

BLANK CUTTING MACHINE WITH MOVABLE PRODUCT HANDLING AND STACKING MEANS Filed Aug. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BRi KE i 5 7. 6 f Y INVENTOR 200 MGFCG/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,124,988 BLANK CUTTING MACHINE WITH MOVABLE PRODUCT HANDLING AND STACKING MEANS Marcel 0. Albert, Alexandria, Va., assignor to Standard Packaging Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Virginia Filed Aug. 5, 1958, Ser. No. 753,275 2 Claims. (Cl. 83-94) This invention relates to an apparatus for cutting blanks from sheet material and more particularly relates to an apparatus for cutting a series of identical blanks from elongated strip material bearing printed matter in such a manner as to minimize the wastage of the strip. material left between successive blanks.

In the manufacture of paper cups and paper or cardboard cartons or similar containers from flat blanks of a sheet material, it is customary to cut the blanks from a large roll of material with the remaining material in the roll constituting waste. Where it is desired to use strip material having printed matter thereon, there is a problem in assuring that the blank is properly cut so that the printed material is positioned in the desired manner in the finished article. This requirement has led to larger wastage than would otherwise occur because it is necessary to place the printed material well within the margin of the blank and to leave waste material about the intended edges of the blank to take care of any inaccuracy in the cutting with respect to the placement of the printed material.

According to the present invention, it has now been found that it is possible to produce blanks of the foregoing type with an absolute minimum wastage of material and with the printed matter being extremely accurately positioned within the blanks. This desirable and unexpected result is obtained through the use of a relatively simple machine constructed from stock parts and producible by substantially any industrial machine shop without the need of workers having special skills other than those ordinarily encountered in such shops.

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for cutting identical blanks from elongated strip material.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for cutting successive identical blanks from elongated strip material with a minimum wastage of such material and with a high accuracy of placement of printed matter on the strip material in the blanks cut therefrom.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for cutting successive identical blanks from elongated strip material containing printed matter which is simple in construction, automatic in operation and low in cost.

It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus of the foregoing type which may be manufactured from stock parts in the average machine shop.

It is still another object of the invention toprovide an apparatus for cutting successive identical blanks from elongated strip material which is capable of high speed automatic operation without close surveillance by an operator.

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification and claims and appended drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of a device constructed according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial vertical section along the line 33 in FIGURE 2 showing details of the actuator for the removal arms;

FIGURE 4 is a partial vertical section along the line 44 in FIGURE 2 showing the details of the vacuum control switch for the blank removal apparatus;

FIGURE 5 is a partial vertical section of the control shaft showing the switch actuating cam;

FIGURE 6 is a simplified wiring diagram of the control system; and

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic side elevation of an other embodiment of an apparatus constructed according to the invention.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 1 of the-drawing, there is shown an apparatus. constructed according to the invention which is mounted on a frame 10 com: prising horizontal pairs of beams 12 and 14 which are joined by pairs of diagonal supports 16 and 18, only the front beams and supports being seen in this figure. The upper horizontal beams 12 are joined by cross horizontal beams 20, shown in cross-section in FIGURE 3, and by similar beams joining the bottoms of the diagonal supports 16 and 18, not shown. Mounted on top of each horizontal beam 12 is a vertically extending plate 22 and each such plate supports an elongated horizontal rail 24. Mounted atop each rail 24 is a further horizontal support member 26. A heavy metal table 28 extends across the horizontal support members 26.

Journaled in suitable hearings in the vertically extending plates 22 is a main shaft 30 which carries a heavy fly wheel 32. The fly wheel 32 is provided with suit: able grooves in its periphery for engaging a drive belt 34 and the lower end of the drive belt engages a drive pulley 36 on shaft 38 of electric motor 40. The fly wheel 32 is keyed to the shaft 30 as are a pair of eccentrics 42 which drive die arms 44.

A block-like die head 46 is mounted for vertical reciprocation above table 28 on four guide rods 48. A heavy shaft 50 extends transversely across die head 46 and is secured thereto in supports 52. The extending ends of the shaft 50 enter suitable bores in the upper ends of the die rods 44, so that upon rotation of the fly wheel and shaft 30, the die head 46 is caused to reciprocate up and down above the table 28. 'A suitable die having a sharp lower edge shaped to cut the desired blank is attached to the under surface of the die head 46 in a conventional manner and engages the table 28 each time that the die head is depressed. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that suitable spring mounting of the die in the die head may be provided in order to insure adequate die life.

A pair of drive rollers 54 are disposed one above the other and are provided with stub shafts 56 and 58 which are received in an adjustable bearing 60 which permits of adjustment of the spacings between the rollers. Adjustment screw 62 may be provided for this purpose in a well-known manner. Referning to FIGURE 2, the lower ends of the rollers 54 as seen in this figure are provided with meshing gears 64 which maintain the rollers in synchronism and cause them to rotate in opposite directions upon the driving of either roller as will presently be discussed in further detail.

A pair of bearings 66 are carried on the rail 24 immediately to the right of the rollers 54 and rotatably support a small diameter roller or shaft 68. Almost immediately below the bearings 66 are mounted bearings 70, seen in FIGURE 1, which carry a shaft 72. A pair of spaced arms 74 are pivoted on the shaft 72 and carry at their outer ends a further roller 01" shaft 7 6. The outer ends of the arms 74 are biased downwardly by means of a pair of coil springs 78 attached to the diagonal supports 18 at 80.

The ends of the rails 24 are supported by a pair of diagonal braces 82 and carry a still further pair of bearings 84 supporting a roller or shaft 86. Mounted on support brackets 88 on diagonal supports 18 are a pair of bearings 90 for the shaft 92 supporting a large roll of paper or similar material 94. The paper web from the roll 94 extends upwardly at 96 over the shaft or roller 86, downwardly at 96 beneath the shaft or roller 76, upwardly at 98, over the roller or shaft '68 and thence between the drive rollers 54, which clamp the web tightly between them.

The roll 94 is quite heavy and thus possesses considerable inertia which must be overcome in starting rotation of the roll. It is in order to accomplish this and to prevent breakage of the paper web and shocks to the system that the arms 74, shaft or roller 76 and springs 78 are provided.

Referring to FIGURE 1, rotation of the drive rollers 54 feeds the web to the left and causes arms 74 to rotate counterclockwise against the tension of the coil springs 78. Prior to the time that the arms 74 reach the horizontal position the tension in the spring 78 becomes adequate to start the heavy roll 94 slowly rotating in a counterclockwise direction. When this rotation occurs the springs 78 immediately take up any slack by pulling the arms 74 downwardly. In this manner strip is continuously fed from the heavy roll 94 without abrupt starts and stops, without breakage of the web and without shocks to the apparatus.

Subsequent to passing between the drive rollers 54, the web is fed across the top of the table 28 as shown at 100 in FIGURE 2. The web extend-s beneath the die head 46 and emerges to the left of the die head on top of the table 28. Referring to FIGURES l and 2, a diagonal discharge plate 102 is mounted to the left and beneath the left edge of table 28 by means of suitable brackets 104. The web leaving the table 28 drops down over this discharge plate and then feeds downwardly at 106 to a waste receptacle, not shown. The web emerging from beneath the die head has been cut by the die as shown at 108 in FIGURE 2 and the desired blank 110 lies within this cut.

A device for removing the cut blanks is constructed as follows: A pair of bearings 112 are mounted at the upper left hand corner of the frame and support a shaft 114 that extends beneath the discharge plate 102. A pair of removal arms 116 and 1118 are secured to the shaft 114 and extend upward between the rails 24'. A cross-arm 120 is carried by the outer end of the removal arms and supports a series of rubber suction cups 122 mounted at an angle to the arms 116-118. Each suction cup has attached thereto a resilient hose 124 and the upper ends of these hoses are attached to a manifold 126. The manifold is, in turn, connected through a valve 128 to a vacuum pipe 130 which is connected to a suitable vacuum system, not shown.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a cross bar 132 is mounted across the left ends of the rails 24 and supports the upper end of a hopper plate 134. The lower end of the hopper plate is supported from the diagonal support 116 by brackets 140. The hopper plate 134 is curved slightly at its upper end 136and is disposed immediately below the suction cups 122 when the removal arms are in their most counter-clockwise positions, which is shown in FIG- URE 1. Guard plates 138 are attached to the sides of the hopper plate and a series of U-shaped brackets 142 depend from its lower edge.

In the removal of cut blanks, the removal arms 116- 118 swing in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 1 until the suction cups 122 engage the blank 110 on top of the left end of table 28. As will presently be described in further detail, the suction cups are at that time connected to the vacuum system, so that they adhere to the top of the blank 1110. The removal arms 116-4118 are then rotated counter-clockwise into the position shown in FIGURE 1 and upon reaching this position the connection to the vacuum system is closed off. The blank held by the suction cups then drops, strikes the upper bent edge 136 of the hopper plate 134 and then slides downward to be caught by the brackets 142.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the upper end of the main shaft 30 as seen in that figure has a sprocket 1-44 keyed thereto. A control shaft 146 is mounted in bearings 148 secured to the underside of cross horizontal beam 20 as seen in FIGURE 3. The upper end of the shaft 146 (as seen in FIGURE 2) extends through the diagonal support v16 and carries a sprocket 150 which is connected to the sprocket 144 by means of a suitable chain 152. Referring to FIGURE 3, a crank wheel 154 is keyed to the control shaft 146 and has a crank 156 pivoted thereto at 158. The other end of the crank 156 ispivoted to a lower extension 160 of removal arm 116. Both removal arms 116 and 118 are locked to the shaft 114 by any suitable means, such as set screws 162. The lower end of the extension is connected to the end of crank 156 by pin 164.

It will be apparent that rotation of control shaft 146 causes both removal arms 116l118 to rock with shaft 114 to move the removal arms from the position shown in FIGURE 1 to the pick-up position wherein the suction cups 122 engage the blank on top of the left end of the table 28 as described hereinbefore. The control shaft 146 is driven through sprockets 1 44 and 150 and chain 152 and is designed to rotate at the same speed and in synchronism with the main shaft 30 so that for each rotation of shaft 30 and for each complete reciprocation of the die head, the crank wheel 154 makes one revolution and the removal arms 116418 go through one cycle.

Referring to FIGURE 4 there is shown the arrange ment for connecting and disconnecting the vacuum sup ply to the suction cups. The vacuum line 130 has con nected therein a quick acting valve 180 Which is con-' trolled by means of an actuator button 182. The shaft 114 which carries the removal arms 1 16'-118 is fitted with a bushing 184 which is locked thereto by means of a set screw 186. A cam finger 188 is attached to the bushing 18 4 and in the position shown in FIGURE 4 engages and depresses the actuator button 182 of the valve 180. At the position shown in FIGURE 4, the removal arms 116 and 118 are in their most counter-clockwise position, as shown in FIGURE 1, and the valve 180 is closed so that there is no vacuum supply to the suction cups 122. Under such circumstances, any blank previously held by the cups would be dropped into the hopper. When the arms 116 and 118 move to the right, the shaft 114 turns in a clockwise direction and the cam 188 clears the actuator button 182 on the valve 180 to open the valve and establish a vacuum connection to the suction cups. Thus, when the suction cup engages the top of table 28, they retain any blank which may be located there and carry it to the left upon rotation in a counter-clockwise direction until the cam 188 again engages button 182 to close valve 180 and cause the blank to drop.

Also connected to the upper end of main shaft 30 as seen in FIGURE 2 is a second sprocket 166 which drives a sprocket 168 by means of a chain 170. The sprocket 168 is attached to the input shaft of an electric clutch and brake 172. The output shaft of this clutch and brake drives a sprocket 174, best seen in FIGURE 1, which, by means of a chain 176, is connected to drive a sprocket 178 at the upper end of the upper roller 54 as seen in FIGURE 2. This electric clutch-brake is of a conventional type wherein electrical energization of the clutch releases the brake and establishes a driving connection between the input and output shafts of the clutch. Conversely, deenergization of the clutchbrake eliminates the connection between the input and output shafts of the clutch and applies the brake to the output shaft. Thus, when the clutch brake is energized, the roller 54 is driven by the main shaft 30 through sprockets 166 and 168 and chain 170 and sprockets 174 and 178 and chain 176 and the roller 54 drives the web. Just as soon as the clutch is deenergized, the brake practically immediately stops the movement of the roller 54 and of the web and breaks the drive connection.

In order to provide for the accurate control which is an important feature of this apparatus, a photoelectric control head 190 is mounted over the web between the die head 46 and feed rollers 54. This photoelectric control head may be mounted on any suitable bracket, such as the bracket 192. The control head may be of a conventional type including both a light source and photoelectric cell with the cell connected to either open or close a relay contact as the light from the head strikes a reflective and nonreflective surface respectively.

In the arrangement of this apparatus, the printing operat-ion which applies the desired design and printed matter on the web also produces thereon accurately spaced markers 194, best seen in FIGURE 2.

Referring to FIGURE 6, there is shown a diagrammatic circuit of the control arrangement for the apparatus. The photoelectric control head is connected to actuate a relay or switch 196 so as to close that switch so long as an unprinted web is beneath its light. However, when a marker 194 moves beneath the photoelect-ric control head, the switch 196 is opened and remains open so long as the marker remains therebeneath. The switch 196 is connected in parallel with a second control switch 198 which is in turn connected to a source of power 200 which may be an ordinary supply main. The switches and supply are connected to the clutch-brake 172 and energize the clutch-brake whenever one of the switches 196198 is closed and deenergize the clutchbrake when both switch 196 and 198 are open. It will be recalled that when the clutch-brake is energized, the drive rollers 54 are driven and that when the clutchbrake is deenergized, the drive rollers are braked to an immediate halt and retained that way until the clutchbrake is again energized.

Referring to FIGURE 5, the switch 198 is of the microswitch type having an actuator button 202. The switch is attached beneath the cross horizontal beam 20 which is also shown in FIGURE 3. A cam 204 is carried by the control shaft 146 and has a raised portion 198. which engages the actuator 202 to close the switch 198. The raised portion 206 of the cam 204 extends over a relatively small angle of its periphery and is positioned so that the switch 198 is closed just as the die head 46 begins to rise from its lowermost or cutting position. The switch 198 is retained closed by the raised portion 206 during only a portion of the rising stroke.

The operation of the control circuit is as follows:

Assume that the die head 46 has just commenced its upward movement from its lowermost or cutting position. The raised portion 206 of cam 204 has closed switch 198 thereby energizing the clutch-brake 172 and causing the drive rollers 54 to feed web beneath the die head. After the web has started to move, the web beneath the photoelectric control head is free of marking and thus the switch 196 closes. The web is fed beneath the die head as it moves upwardly and may even continue to be fed as it commences its downward stroke. The feed continues until a marker 194 reaches a position directly beneath the photoelectric control head 190.

It will be recalled that switch 198 is maintained closed by cam 204 for only a short portion of the upward movement of the die head, so that during the major portion of the upward movement of the die head and its complete downward stroke, the clutch-brake can only be energized by switch 196. As soon as the marker 194 reaches the position directly beneath the photoelectric control head 190, switch 196 is opened and the clutchbrake is deenergized bringing the web to an immediate halt. The die head 46 continues its downward movement, cuts the blank from the web and then starts to move upwardly. At this time the switch 198 is again closed thereby energizing the clutch-brake and causing the drive-rollers 54 to move the marker 194 from be neath the photoelectric control head 190, thereby again permitting switch 196 to close. Switch 198 again opens as the raised portion 206 of the cam 204 moves past the actuator button 202 on switch 198, but movement of the web is continued by switch 196 until another marker reaches a position directly beneath the photoelectric control head 190.

With this arrangement, the position of the web beneath the cutting die is controlled by the marking on the web itself, so that it is possible to cut the web extremely accurately with respect to marking thereon.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the web is shown having blanks cut therefrom. These particular blanks are shaped to form the bodies of paper cups and may have certain designs thereon in addition to having certain printed matter, such as the copyright notice, etc., at the lower edge thereof as shown at 208. With the apparatus of this invention, it is possible to cut the blanks so that the printing 208 is literally bottomed on the adjacent cut 108. This accuracy can be maintained from blank to blank because the markers 194 are accurately printed on the web by the same roller which applies the printed material 208. This method of control also makes it possible to allow an absolute minimum material 210 to remain between adjacent blanks thereby reducing the waste material which remains in the spent web.

As a resume of the overall operation of the apparatus, the motor 40 drives the fly wheel 32 and main shaft 30 continuously. This causes control shaft 114 to also continuously rotate. The rotation of main shaft 30 causes the continuous vertical reciprocation of the die head 46 from its uppermost position to its lowermost position wherein the die, not shown, engages the table 28 to cut whatever web is thereon. A large supply of' web material is provided on the heavy roller 94 and this is fed between the drive rollers 54 through a take-up arrangement consisting of the arms 74, shaft 76, springs 78, and shaft 86. The drive rollers 54 are driven through the electric clutch-brake 172 which is controlled primarily by the switch 196 under the control of the photoelectric control head 190. The clutch-brake is energized and the drive of the drive rollers established, so long as unprinted web appears beneath the photoelectric control head. When a marker 194 reaches a position beneath the photoelectric control head, however, the switch 196 is open and the clutch-brake deenergized so that the web is brought to an immediate halt. This condition continues to prevail until the die head 46 reaches its lowermost cutting position, a blank is cut, and the clutch-brake is then reenergized through a second switch 198 which is cammed shut by means of the cam 204 on the control shaft 146. Switch 196 then again closes and maintains movement of the web until another marker 194 appears beneath the control head.

The blanks issuing from beneath the left side of the die head are picked from the table 28 by means of the suction cups 122 mounted on the removal arms 116 and 118. These arms reciprocate between the left position shown in FIGURE 1 and the right position wherein the suction cups engage the blanks on the table top. At the time that the cups engage the blank, a vacuum connection thereto is established by means of the valve 180. As the removal arms 116 reach their leftmost position shown in FIGURE 1, the valve is closed by the cam 188 allowing the blank held by the suction cups 122 to fall across the hopper bottom 136 into the brackets 142. The remainder of the Web feeds downwardly over plate 102 and is collected at 106 in a waste container, not shown.

While the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG- URES 1-6 utilizes a vertically reciprocating die-head, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that this is not essential to the apparatus of the invention and that 7 other physical arrangements of the' die head may be utilized.

Referring to FIGURE 7 there is a diagrammatic illustration of one such variation of the apparatus of the invention. While the apparatus of FIGURES 1-6 utilizes a cutting die which was forced into the table top 28, the embodiment of the invention of FIGURE 7 uses a male and female type die wherein the cut blank is forced through the female die.

Referring to FIGURE 7, the main shaft 212 drives the fly wheel 214 and also imparts a reciprocating motion to the die arms 216. The die head 218 thus reciprocates in a horizontal direction and carries a male die knife which is adapted to pass through an opening in the female die 220 in a conventional manner. The web 222 is fed downwardly between the male and female dies and the cut blanks emerge from the left side of the female die 220 to be collected on a shelf 224 by any suitable arrangement. The web 222 passes over a shaft 226, beneath a movable shaft 228 and over a third shaft 230 from which it proceeds to the web roll 232. The movable shaft 228 is mounted on a bell crank shaped lever 234 which is pivoted at 230 and which is urged downwardly and to the right by means of a spring 236 attached to a support at 238. The operation of this web feed is similar to that described in connection with the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 1-6 as is the other operation of the embodiment of FIGURE 7. FIGURE 7 is intended to illustrate the possibility of disposing the various elements of the apparatus of the invention in different positions from those shown in FIG- .URES 1-6 while still retaining all of the advantages of that unit.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that by utilizing the apparatus of this invention it is possible to cut successive blanks from an elongated web of strip material while minimizing the waste of material remaining in the strips after the blanks have been removed. A very important feature of the apparatus is its ability to accurately cut the blanks around printed material on the web so as to secure identical placement of the printed material on the web in all blanks. This permits placement of the printed material practically on the cut of the blank and eliminates the production of some blanks wherein the printed material may be partially cut off. The machine is quite simple in construction, is completely automatic .in operation and is economical in cost and maintenance.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description,

5 and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A blank cutting apparatus for cutting predetermined blanks from a web having indicia thereon comprising a machine frame, a reciprocating blanking die supported by said frame and movable into engagement with the web at uniform intervals to cut the blank without removing the blanks from the web, web feeding means for feeding the web to the blanking die, means for intermittently actuating the web feeding means, sensing means for detecting the indicia on the web, means responsive to the detection of the indicia on the web by the sensing means to interrupt the web feeding means and thereby register the web relative to the blanking die and a blank previously cut in a predetermined waiting position to be lifted from the web, blank receiving and stacking means adjacent but spaced apart from the discharge end of said machine frame, spaced-apart supports mounting the blank receiving and stacking means from the discharge end of the machine frame, said blank receiving and stacking means and spaced apart supports cooperating to define a narrow, downwardly extending feed path for said web while providing a short path of travel for the blanks from the web to the blank receiving and stack means, suction means, and a movable transporter on the downstream side of the blanking die for carrying the suction means from engagement with the cut blank in waiting position, lifting the blank from the web and transporting it to the blank receiving means, and means controlled by the position of the transporter for establishing said suction to enable the suction means to pick up a blank in Waiting position and disconnecting the suction to enable the suction means to release the blank at the receiving means.

2. A blank cutting apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the transporter is a pivotally mounted swing frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 293,732 Hammerstein Feb. 19, 1884 589,884 Williams Sept. 14, 1897 1,400,827 Leumann Dec. 20, 1921 2,077,439 Schmitt Apr. 20, 1937 2,300,569 Hayssen Nov. 3, 1942 2,416,173 Halstead Feb. 18, 1947 2,567,141 Andrew Sept. 4, 1951 2,689,730 Tebbs Sept. 21, 1954 2,699,831 Gartner Jan. 18, 1955 2,838,113 Cornell June 10, 1958 2,941,341 Clinton June 21, 1960 Fromm May 2, 1961 

1. A BLANK CUTTING APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PREDETERMINED BLANKS FROM A WEB HAVING INDICIA THEREON COMPRISING A MACHINE FRAME, A RECIPROCATING BLANKING DIE SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAME AND MOVABLE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WEB AT UNIFORM INTERVALS TO CUT THE BLANK WITHOUT REMOVING THE BLANKS FROM THE WEB, WEB FEEDING MEANS FOR FEEDING THE WEB TO THE BLANKING DIE, MEANS FOR INTERMITTENTLY ACTUATING THE WEB FEEDING MEANS, SENSING MEANS FOR DETECTING THE INDICIA ON THE WEB, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE DETECTION OF THE INDICIA ON THE WEB BY THE SENSING MEANS TO INTERRUPT THE WEB FEEDING MEANS AND THEREBY REGISTER THE WEB RELATIVE TO THE BLANKING DIE AND A BLANK PREVIOUSLY CUT IN A PREDETERMINED WAITING POSITION TO BE LIFTED FROM THE WEB, BLANK RECEIVING AND STACKING MEANS ADJACENT BUT SPACED APART FROM THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID MACHINE FRAME, SPACED-APART SUPPORTS MOUNTING THE BLANK RECEIVING 